Home automation is one of the growing trends of the 21st century. Home automation is a general term used for controlling and automating the different features of the home through electronic appliances. The system relies on an on-location hub, which sometimes is cloud-based, for control and connectivity. It also allows user interface via a web interface or a portable mobile device.

Concepts of Home Automation

Two main concepts, control and automation, make up home automation. Both have been around long before the ‘smart house’ concept. The control concept has been accomplished through IR remotes for TVs, an acoustic wave for the Clapper and a number of radio frequency remote controls. A big part of the automation is accomplished using photo sensors and timers.

Most users are familiar with the idea of a switch which is controlled with a remote, sensor monitors and the use of a portable smart device in interacting with electronic devices. The central hub and standard wireless internet router bear similarities. In fact, hubs and wireless internet routers could become a single product. A hub is needed in most households due to the unavailability of other devices having the requisite radios needed to connect to the various sensors and switches. Additionally the hub needs to be in the house for automation even in the absence of a user. It allows the system to determine to go on a ‘vacation mode’ or control the temperature based on the user settings.

A Truly Smart Home

Among the most popular areas of home automation are lighting, security, audio and video systems, water usage monitoring, smoke detectors, pet feeder, sprinkler systems, sensors, and HVAC systems. These systems can be interlinked and are easy to install too.